Guide and clamp for vehicle body curtains



GUIDE AND CLAMP FOR VEHICLE BODY CURTAINS Filed NOV. 23, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Jim/en for Dec. 16, 1952 G. L. HARPER GUIDE AND CLAMP FQR VEHICLE BODY CURTAINS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Nov. 22, 1950 ATTORNEY INVENTOR. Wye 17m Patented Dec. 16, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUIDE AND CLAMP FOR VEHICLE BODY CURTAINS 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a guide and clamp for a vehicle side curtain and more particularly for curtains of the type employed for closing the sides and ends of a vehicle body.

The primary object of the invention is to guide opposite side edges of a vehicle side curtain and after the curtain has been adjusted to the desired position on the vehicle body, to clamp the side edges of the curtain and hold them firmly in place against the sides, or ends of the vehicle on which the device is employed.

Vehicle side curtains of the type to which this invention relates are disclosed in Patent No. 1,702,466 and in my co-pending application filed February 2, 19 18, Serial No. 5,771, now Patent No. 2,58%,014, dated January 29, 1952. While both of the disclosures above mentioned show clamping means for holding the side edges of a side curtain against a vehicle, it is to be noted that each clamp member is required to be operated individually and independently of the others so that considerable time is consumed in securing the side curtains in place on the vehicle bodies after the curtains have been adjusted thereon to the desired height.

A further object of this invention is to enable the operating units of the clamp members to be moved in unison so as to move their respective clamp members into or out of clamping engagement with a single operation.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features base plates carried by the vehicle body adjacent each corner thereof, clamp members carried by the base plates and forming with said base plates guide channels in which opposite side edges of the side curtains are received, and eccentrics carried by the base plates and connected to the clamp members for moving the clamp members toward and away from said base plates and into and out of. clampin relation with opposite side edges of the curtains.

Other features include a box carried by each base plate, an eccentric operating within each box about a floating axis, and means connected to the eccentrics and to the clamp members for moving said clamp members toward and away from the base plates as the eccentrics rotate about the floating axes.

Still other features include an operating shaft extending through a group of eccentrics and operatively coupled thereto so that upon rotating the shaft the eccentrics will be rotated, and a handle at the lower end of each shaft and operatively connected thereto for rotating its respective shaft.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle body equipped with side curtains and having at each corner thereof guide and clamp members forming channels in which the side edges of the side curtains are received;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view on a somewhat enlarged scale taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the operating shaft and eccentrics carried thereby showing the operating handle connected to the shaft.

Referring to the drawings in detail a vehicle body designed generally It comprises a bed I2 to which are connected by conventional straps Hi side members it.

Mounted above each side member It within a suitable housing I8 is a roller 20 upon which a curtain 22 is rolled within the housin 18. The curtain 22 is of a length sufiicient to extend over the base plates of the guide and clamp members to be more fully hereinafter described, which guide and clamp members are carried by the side members 56 adjacent opposite ends thereof. It will thus be understood that the opposite side edges of the curtains 22 overlie the base plates when the curtain is unrolled from the roller 20 so as to extend downwardly and cover the side members 16.

Mounted on each side member l6 adjacent opposite ends thereof and in overlying relation thereto is a base plate designated generally 24. Each base plate 24 comprises an elongated vertically extending strip of sheet material such as metal which is bent midway between opposite side edges to form legs 26 which extend perpendicularly to one another around the corners of the vehicle body. Each leg 26 of each base plate 24 is provided at spaced intervals with slots 28, 3!] and 32 for a purpose to be more fully hereinafter described. There is one set of slots 28, 3G and 32 near the upper end of each leg 25 and a similar set of slots adjacent the lower end of each leg 26. Extending through the slots 32 of the legs 26 of the base plate 24 are bolts 34 which project through ears 36 carried by housings 38 which are of substantially rectangular formation and project inwardly from the base plates as will be readily understood upon reference to Figure 3. Carried at the ends of the housings 38 remote from the ears 36 are outstanding cars 49 for the reception of bolts 44 which project through the slots 28. It will thus be seen that by loosening the bolts 34 and 44, the housings 38 may be adjusted horizontally by moving the bolts in their respective slots 32.

Interposed between the head of each bolt M and its respective leg 26 is a cushion and sealing strip 45 which extends vertically throughout the length of its respective leg, and interposed between each cushion and sealing strip 46 and the heads of the bolts 44 of each leg 2t is a clamping strip 43 which extends vertically throughout the entire length of its respective leg. Each clamping strip 48 is provided adjacent its edge remote from its respective cushion and sealing strip 35 With a clamp jaw Ell which is adapted to engage a side curtain 22 adjacent its side edge as will be readily understood upon reference to Figure 3. Formed intermediate opposite side edges of each clamping member 48 are openings 52 which register with the slots 30 in the legs 25 of the base plate 24 to receive the threaded end of an operating link to be more fully hereinafter described.

Mounted for rotation in each housing 38 is an eccentric disk 54 through which projects a vertically extending operating shaft 58. These shafts 56 are eccentrically located relative to their respective eccentric disks 54 and they extend vertically to a plane below the lower edges of the side members l and are equipped adjacent their lower ends with laterally extending operating handles 58 by which a shaft may be rotated. Mounted for rotary movement on. each shaft 56 adjacent each eccentric disk is an eye 66 of a link 52 which is externally screw threaded as at 64 and has its threaded end projected through an adjacent slot as and an opening 52 which registers with its respective slot 38. Clamp nuts E6 are threadedly engaged on the threaded portion 64 of each link 52 and engage opposite side faces of an adjacent clamping member 48 so that as a shaft 56 is rotated the clamping member coupled thereto will be moved into or out of clamping engagement with a side curtain.

In use with the guide and clamp members in place on the vehicle body as illustrated in Figure l, and the side curtains 22 drawn downwardly to cover the sides N5 of the vehicle body, the shaft 56 at each end of the vehicle body is rotated about its vertical axis by moving the handle 58. Such rotary movement will cause the eccentrics 54 on said shaft to engage an adjacent leg 25 of the base plate 24 carrying the shaft 58 and owing to the eccentric location of the shaft, as the eccentrics 54 are turned, the shaft coupled thereto will move and exert pull on the links 62 coupled thereto, to thereby move the adjacent clamp member Q8 into clamping engagement with the side curtain 22 to firmly hold said curtain against the side of the vehicle and between the clamp jaw 58 and an adjacent leg 26 of the base plate 24.

When it is desired to release the side curtain, the shaft 5% is rotated in the opposite direction so as to cause the eccentric 54 to engage the wall of its respective housing 38 and thereby move the clamp member 48 out of clamping engagement with the curtain. Owin to the support of the clamping member 48 on the cushion and sealing strip 46, it is obvious that it can be easily rocked into and out of clamping relation with the side curtain and moreover the sealing strip 46 serves effectively to exclude air and moisture from entering the channel guideway in which the side edge of a side curtain is received. As a result a weather-tight connection of opposite side edges of the side curtains to a vehicle body is effected which will not permit the curtain to be blown loose owing to the clamping effect of the clamp members and at the same time when it is desired to raise or lower the curtain, the clamp members may be easily released by manipulation of the handles 53.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred form of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle body, including its side frames and top, a vertical metal plate secured on the outer side of each end of a side frame, a housing mounted lengthwise on the side frame immediately below the top, a roller journalled at its ends in the opposite ends of the housing, a curtain on the roller to be lowered through a slotted opening in the bottom of the housing to enclose the side frame, vertically spaced clamp elements mounted on the outer side of each of the plates and forming a guide channel therewith to receive the adjacent edge of the curtain, a second housing mounted vertically on the inner side of each plate, a floating shaft extending vertically through each housing, a pair of eccentrics mounted on each shaft for turning movements therewith, members mounted on each shaft each immediately above an eccentric for turning movements relative to the shaft and the eccentrics and operatively connected through openings in the plate with the clamp elements to move the ,same into and out of clamping engagement with the adjacent side edge of the curtain, and means on the lower end of each shaft for imparting turning movements thereto.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, with each of the said plates forming a side portion of an angled member straddled about a corner of the vehicle body to provide like plates at the ends of the front and rear ends of the body for the duplication thereon of the aforesaid guide and clamping elements and the operating means therefor.

GEORGE L. HARPER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,702,466 Davis Feb. 19, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 616,343 France Jan. 31, 1927 

